1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power operated system for raising and lowering an oven rack, and in particular for raising and lowering an oven rack without opening the oven door.
2. Description of the Background Art
Throughout the United States steps are being taken to improve raising and lowering oven racks without opening the door to eliminate the possibility of burning the cook's hands and forearms. Wire racks are provided for holding baking trays, casserole dishes, corning ware and other devices for cooking and holding food. The typical oven has protuberances or shelf rack guides along the interior wall which form fixed distances between the oven racks themselves. It is left to the cook to determine the appropriate levels of the oven racks when preparing various foods. Typically, and in particular on holidays when many items must be cooked simultaneously, the cook will be faced with the situation of having to relocate the racks relative to each other after the oven has been brought to an operating temperature. In this instance, the cook runs the risk of burning their forearms because it is a cumbersome process to remove partially cooked food and a hot oven rack and relocate the rack at another shelf projection position. The oven racks tend to stick in a position because of the thermal expansion they undergo while the oven is at operating temperature. It is extremely discomforting to the cook to have to go through this process during a baking operation where the food itself is subject to negative consequences when moved during the cooking operation as in a souffle.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,634 issued to Brinkman et al. discloses a power operated oven rack having an electric motor to drive an oven shelf rack for selectively raising or lowering the rack and for shifting the rack in and out of the oven compartment. Patent '634 discloses the use of a chain pulley connected to the electric motor to raise and lower the oven shelf in the oven compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,834,334 issued to Bill discloses an oven rack with a raisable shelf portion having a base structure with longitudinal rails to support the oven side walls in a moveable shelf mounted on the frame which is driven by a pantograph linkage which urges movement of the shelf in a vertical direction while maintaining the horizontal orientation of the shelf frame itself. Patent '334 relies solely on the mechanical to raise and lower the shelf in the oven compartment. Patent '334 is silent on the use of a remote controlled electrically driven oven rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,691 issued to Rinaldo et al. discloses a mechanism for adjusting the height of racks in range ovens. Patent '691 relies solely on the mechanism to raise and lower the shelf in the oven compartment. Patent '691 is silent on the use of a remote controlled electrically driven oven rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,043,290 issued to Smith discloses an oven elevating and lowering mechanism having a vertically moveable shelf for holding a cooking pan and a driving assembly to move the shelf in a vertical direction either up or down by means of a remotely controlled electrically powered motor and circuit. Patent '290 uses a worm gear lead screw 34 to move the drive assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,106,506 issued to Pletcher et al. discloses a boiler compartment having a frame and a drawer and a skeleton frame located within adapted to be moved in and out of the oven compartment. Patent '506 relies solely on mechanical means to raise and lower the shelf in the broiler compartment. Patent '506 is silent on the use of a remote controlled electrically driven oven rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,868,190 issued to Reeves discloses an adjustable broiler mechanism having a vertically positioned elevator assembly and a horizontally positioned rack pusher assembly to move the rack in the vertical and the horizontal direction. Patent '190 relies solely on mechanical means to raise and lower the shelf in the oven compartment. Patent '190 is silent on the use of a remote controlled electrically driven oven rack.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,048,984 issued to Eberhardt discloses an oven rack having a chain for providing a horizontal movement through a tunnel type oven. The rack is rectangular in shape and has a plurality of axially spaced apart wire rods extending between the sides for supporting baking pans or other articles used in food baking. Patent '984 relies solely on the mechanical wheel to raise and lower the latch in the oven compartment.
None of these previous efforts, however, provide the benefits intended with the present invention. Additionally, prior techniques do not suggest, the present inventive combination of component elements as disclosed and claimed herein. The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objectives and advantages over the prior art devices through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, which is simple to use, with the utilization of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, assemble, test and by employing only readily available material.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide the cook with the means to vary the oven rack height in the oven cavity itself before and during the cooking operation.
Therefore it is an object of the present invention to provide a power operated system for raising and lowering an oven rack without opening the oven door in order to eliminate the cook's hands and forearms.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a power operated system for raising and lowering a plurality of oven racks.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a power operated system for raising and lowering a plurality of oven racks to an infinite number of systems using a remote controlled apparatus that is located external to the cavity.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a system for raising and lowering a plurality of oven racks with a minimum of apertures in the oven cavity to reduce the heat loss to the outside environment.
A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide a Power Operated Oven Rack in accordance with the proceeding objects and which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that would be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.
Although there have been many inventions related to power operated oven racks none of the inventions have become sufficiently compact, low cost and reliable enough to become commonly used. The present invention meets the requirements of the simplified design, compact size, low initial cost, low operating cost, ease of installation and maintainability, and minimal amount of training to successfully employ the invention.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.